Search

Disasters are life-changing events that children find frightening and unfathomable. Seen through the eyes of children, disasters are always enigmatic, thus stirring questions, such as what are they? What causes them? And how can they be confronted? Environmental works for children often feature disasters to help children understand the threats that their world is subjected to. Disasters are thus used as symbols through which writers can deliver moral and ecological lessons to the young audience/reader. In this comparative study, the representation of disasters will be examined in two environmental plays for children in which natural and environmental disasters impact the lives of the young protagonists: One Snowy Night (2007) and The Storm in the Barn (2012). The plays have been selected because, firstly, they have not been critically dealt with, to the best of my knowledge, and, secondly, they shed light on the immense impact of disasters on children. Through the element of fantasy, the disasters are personified to help children understand the symbiotic relation between humans and nature. By giving voice to the personified representations of disasters, children understand the environmental role humans can play: either mitigating or increasing the effects of disasters. Both works thus highlight how disasters are viewed in the eyes of children and how they impact their outlook of life and the environment (whether their hometowns or the natural world). Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the portrayal of natural and environmental disasters through the lens of critical disaster studies shedding light on its key concepts and terms that are reflected in the plays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of certain mnemonic techniques in memorizing a melodic fragment by music school students. In the study group, in the process of memorizing a given melody, students used, in addition to sound, visual, psychomotor, and logical memory. In this study, 108 third-grade students from Nanchang Postal Road Primary School participated: 54 in the study group and 54 in the control group, respectively. After listening to a piece of music three times, the children played it with their voices with appropriate accompaniment. The evaluation was carried out according to the following criteria: integral continuous performance, the number of errors associated with inaccurate hitting of the tone, and the number of errors in the structure of the melody. During the study, it was observed that incorporating mnemonic techniques, which involve engaging different forms of memory alongside auditory memory, enhances the memorization of melodies. This approach can be used in the preparation of training programs for music school students, as it contributes to the formation of musical memory and hearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To children, nature is not only the shelter, savior, and life-maintaining force, but also the impressive world that they are involuntarily attracted to. The immense fascination with nature in children's literature shows the significance of such a relation. This paper seeks to examine two plays for children that deal with the relation between young girls and nature: Baba Yaga and the Black Sunflower (2000) by Carol Korty and The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus (2020) by Eric Coble. Both plays do not merely highlight the importance of nature and the natural world, but also emphasize the relentless attempts of young girls to protect nature and reconcile with its inhabitants. The protagonists in both plays emerge as the central driving force; they embark on a journey to the natural world in which they find peace, understand the value of nature, and, finally, save the natural and the human world as well. Drawing upon ecofeminism, the paper aims to examine both plays as ecofeminist texts through analyzing the young girls' perception of the injustice done to the natural world and its dwellers, and their journeys that end with the reconciliation with nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Works for children are filled with a myriad of creatures that are often used by writers to convey certain messages to the young readers/audiences. From tamed to wild, real and imaginary beings, such creatures emerge either as benevolent or evil forces. This study seeks to highlight the role of humorous, benevolent monsters in works for children showing how their presence is laden with meanings. For this purpose, two plays for children are selected: The Monsters under the Bed (2007) by Fr. Dominic Garramone and Osb and the St.Bede Theater Troupe, and The Boy Who Loved Monsters and the Girl Who Loved Peas (2013) by Jonathan Graham. Drawing upon humor studies, monster studies, and child psychology, the paper attempts to analyze the use of humor in portraying friendly monsters in the selected works reflecting how it is through them that the children protagonists revisit their views of monsters and understand that they are a reflection of themselves (their needs/fears). The analysis of these benevolent monsters and their effect on the protagonists will be carried out in relation to the different theatrical elements and the verbal and visual signs which clarify and affirm the benevolence of such creatures and the humorous touch added to their roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on an unusual kind of writing that revisits the traumatic experience of the Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944). The main heroine of this article has never been studied in this context: Tamara Gabbe (1903–1960) was a children's playwright, but in her narrow circle of friends (which included Anna Akhmatova) she was acknowledged as a moral authority. Gabbe's private letters written after her evacuation from Leningrad repeatedly highlight the impossibility of speaking about everyday life, and her children's plays enact a happy resolution to the real-life troubles experienced by Gabbe and many others during and after the Great Terror, the Siege, and the Second World War—troubles that could not be described in the Soviet press overtly. This paper analyzes ethical and psychological ideas implicit in Gabbe's works of 1942–1946; I propose that these ideas show some surprising parallels to the "logotherapy" developed by the Austrian-American psychologist and philosopher Viktor Frankl, and to the methods of existential psychotherapy as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of one mother's experience of engaging with her children's schools after leaving a long-term relationship characterised by years of family violence perpetrated by the children's father. We interviewed Bernadette as part of an ongoing study of parents' experiences of school engagement during family separation and divorce. Her family circumstances and the role the children's schools played in that story merit consideration by educators, school leaders and education policy makers. Informed by theories of everyday cultural practices and sociological studies of gendered power relations in education, we argue that gender politics and organisational strategies for keeping parents 'in their place' can significantly contribute to systemic failures and school cultures that reinscribe the effects of family violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the role that parental engagement with child's education plays in the lifecourse dynamics of locus of control (LOC), one of the most widely studied non-cognitive skills related to economic decision-making. We focus on parental engagement as previous studies have shown that it is malleable, easy to measure, and often available for fathers, whose inputs are notably understudied in the received literature. We estimate a standard skill production function using rich British cohort data. Parental engagement is measured with information provided at age 10 by the teacher on whether the father or the mother is very interested in the child's education. We deal with the potential endogeneity in parental engagement by employing an added-value model, using lagged measures of LOC as a proxy for innate endowments and unmeasured inputs. We find that fathers', but not mothers', engagement leads to internality, a belief associated with positive lifetime outcomes, in both young adulthood and middle age for female and socioeconomically disadvantaged cohort members. Fathers' engagement also increases the probability of lifelong internality and fully protects against lifelong externality. Our findings highlight that fathers play a pivotal role in the skill production process over the lifecourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies connect teachers' intentionality with children's writing in play-based contexts. Thus, the goal of this study (n = 5) was to examine how the use of stations and intentional teaching encouraged writing in two preschool classrooms. Interviews with the preschool director and classroom teachers as well as observations of the children helped our understanding of how the teachers worked to naturally integrate writing into children's play. Findings suggest learning stations that encourage writing offered authentic and creative opportunities for composition, but must be scaffolded with intentional teaching in order for children to continue to develop their writing skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a study where we investigated the effect of low or high phonically-decodable texts on young children learning to read. Two parallel series of 12 instructional reading books were used with 36 children in three schools. These books were purposely created so that each parallel book, in sequence, introduced the same number of new words. Children were randomly assigned to a condition in each classroom using a split-cluster design. Prior to reading the books, children played associated games to introduce the new vocabulary. Children were assessed at pre and post-intervention using standardised measures of word reading and comprehension. Our results demonstrate a statistically significant difference and large effect size for reading comprehension in favour of the low phonically-decodable texts. The findings challenge the assumption that children find highly decodable text easier to read, and may have implications for reading policies and classroom practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased emphasis on academics has led to play becoming a controversial and topical issue in the field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Although play has been extensively researched we still lack consensus on what play is and how play is actually implemented and used in ECEC classrooms. The present cross-cultural study aims at understanding how play is conceptualized and provided across eight different countries. The study investigates whether and how conceptualizations of play affect uses of play; whereas it also examines similarities and differences in conceptualizations and uses across countries. Results have revealed the existence of both universal and non-universal characteristics of play. Despite the existence of universal characteristics, however, variations in the extent to which they were mentioned across countries have been revealed. Differences were identified in terms of how early childhood educators act on their ideas about children's play within early childhood programs. Various patterns of correlations between definitions and uses have been revealed. Some countries seem to be characterized by an 'ethos of play,' both in terms of how play is conceptualized and used, whereas others seem to struggle between offering a more child-initiated, play-based curriculum versus a more teacher-led approaches to instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the effects of literacy-rich sociodramatic guided play on kindergarten student literacy performance and behavior. Kindergarten students of varying socioeconomic status attending two elementary schools in the same school district participated in this repeated measures, counterbalanced design study. Students received the mandated grade-level literacy instruction with a supplemental 15 min block of time designated for play-based literacy integration during which the intervention took place. During this short time, students working in small groups were given materials (miniature items, toys, letter tiles) to practice initial letter sounds and consonant-vowel-consonant rhyming word families using either an assigned activity (control condition) or a student-invented game that practiced the same literacy concepts (experimental activity). Students instructed through the experimental condition scored significantly better on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment with a medium effect size. Additional positive academic results included practice in story-composing, sequencing ideas into a complex cause and effect chain of events; application of new vocabulary; repeated practice of phonics and phonemic awareness skills to new examples; self-regulation of emotions; communication and negotiation with peers; and imagination, fantasy, humor, and creativity. Students evidenced preference for the experimental condition, continuing to repeat their games during recess or free time and to record them in their journals. Examples of student-generated literacy games are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Play is an important activity in young children's lives. It is how children explore their world and build knowledge. Although free play, which is play that is totally child directed, contributes to children's learning, self-regulation and motivation, adults' participation in children's play is critical in their development, especially their language development. Guided by children, adults can help scaffold children's language, and especially their learning. We suggest that adults scaffold children's language during play by using research based strategies such as asking questions that invite extended responses and new inquiry, provide meaningful feedback and effectively use wait time, which provides children with the opportunity to respond to adults' comments and questions. The goal is to provide adults with strategies to scaffold children's language development during play while allowing children to direct their own play activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though not plentiful, it is common to find toys on military sites. While such objects may at times be attributed to the recreation of soldiers, the documentary evidence for children at military installations makes it possible to link some of these objects to children's play. Here, several toys and other child-related artifacts recovered from a former munitions depot are used to delve into a discussion of children within these military landscapes. In doing so, an alternative conceptualization of the landscape is proposed as a means to encourage development of an archaeology of childhood in military contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased availability of tablet technologies in many homes and early childhood educational settings has transformed play-time and the subsequent opportunities that emerge for literacy learning. What children do with the digital applications (apps) on these technologies demands our attention, particularly as we consider the ever-increasing market of apps marketed to enhance the basic literacy skills. While there are varying degrees of quality amongst available apps, some apps have potential to foster children's play and language development in unexpected and interesting ways. As educators, we need to acknowledge the role 'digital play' can play in our pedagogical interactions and the possibilities these offer for literacy learning. To do this, we need to examine ways that children engage with technology as they learn to read, write, listen, and communicate. This paper argues children's digital play offers teachers new opportunities to support, inform, reform, or transform the literacy with experiences we encourage children to participate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Early Childhood is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Journal of Early Childhood is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Few studies have examined vocal expressions of emotion in children with autism. We tested the hypothesis that during social interactions, children diagnosed with autism would exhibit less extreme laugh acoustics than their nonautistic peers. Laughter was recorded during a series of playful interactions with an examiner. Results showed that children with autism exhibited only one type of laughter, whereas comparison participants exhibited two types. No group differences were found for laugh duration, mean fundamental frequency (F0) values, change in F0, or number of laughs per bout. Findings are interpreted to suggest that children with autism express laughter primarily in response to positive internal states, rather than using laughter to negotiate social interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceptions of children's credibility were studied in two experiments wherein participants watched a videotape of a 4- to 5- or a 6- to 7-year old child report details of a play session that had been experienced once (single-event) or was the last in a series of four similar play sessions (repeat-event). The child's report was classified as high or low accurate. In Experiments 1 and 2, reports of repeat-event children were judged to be less believable on several measures. In Experiment 1, younger children were viewed as less credible than older children. In both experiments, neither undergraduates nor community members correctly discriminated between high- and low-accurate reports. Content analysis in Study 3 revealed the relationship between age and event frequency and children's credibility ratings was mediated by the internal consistency of children's reports. Recent research on children's reports of instances of repeated events has identified several challenges facing children who report repeated abuse. These data bring to light another potential difficulty for these children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Early Childhood is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Children’s play is usually connected with qualities such as happiness and innocence, and regarded as important and necessary for learning and development. However, play is not always a state of joy. Experiences of being socially excluded or ignored and of taking part in such activities are occurring. The article draws on a re-analysis of empirical data from a study of pre-school children’s play. The focus in the article is directed towards how pre-school children within the context of play communicate and act in relation to social participation and power. The theoretical framework is built upon a socio-cultural research tradition, particularly emphasising context and communication. Interpretive reproduction, secondary adjustment, and social representations are used as additional theoretical concepts in the analyses and discussions of the results. Empirical data show that children’s social representations of power and participation in play include rationales for who can join the play and who can not, and also how to allow exceptions from the main rule that ‘anyone can join’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning to take turns in repeated game situations is a robust phenomenon in both laboratory experiments and in everyday life. Nevertheless, it has received little attention in recent studies of learning dynamics in games. We investigate the simplest and most obvious extension of fictitious play to a learning rule that can recognize patterns, and show how players using this rule can spontaneously learn to take turns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to extend current children's literature criticism into children's plays and children's theatre. The article uses Norman Lindsay's The Magic Pudding as a prose introduction to an idea of a theatrical carnivalesque. Building on the practical experience of being involved in a large program of original drama for children, written and produced within the university context, it develops a theory of plays-as-the-performance-of-texts, relating this to the current debate on performance and performativity. It adopts the idea of performativity as performative belonging and identifies some distinguishing characteristics of children's plays. Applying some of these ideas to David Almond's Wild Girl, Wild Boy, it notes the idea of moral psychic reorganisation as part of the essence of carnival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes a clinical investigation of the feasibility of using scripted plays as a tool for increasing the level of free play in children with developmental disabilities. Emphasis of the clinical investigation on the ecological validity and clinical significance over statistical decision making; Experiment parameters of the subject; Performance evaluation under the Diagnostic Battelle Developmental Inventory.